Azipod

[8] Because Azipod units utilize fixed-pitch propellers,[9] power is always fed through a variable-frequency drive or cycloconverter that allows speed and direction control of the propulsion motors.

[15] The 1.5 MW unit, dubbed "Azipod" (short for azimuthing electric podded drive[16]) was installed on the 1979-built Finnish fairway support vessel Seili at Hietalahti shipyard in Helsinki, Finland.

Following the encouraging experiences from the prototype installation, the development of the Azipod concept continued and the next units were retrofitted on two Finnish oil tankers, Uikku and Lunni, in 1993 and 1994, respectively.

Nearly eight times as powerful as the prototype, the 11.4 MW Azipod units considerably increased the icegoing ability of the vessels that were already built with independent icebreaking capability in mind.

The world's first cruise ship fitted with Azipod propulsion units, Elation, was delivered by Kværner Masa-Yards Helsinki shipyard in the spring of 1998.

[19][21] The smaller Azipod Compact differs from the full-size unit by its permanent magnet synchronous motor which is directly cooled by sea water.

[24] The latest design, the Azipod X, incorporates these improvements, with a view to a service interval of five years, and features bearings that can be taken apart and repaired from inside the pod while the ship is harbored normally.